46 | AUGUST 5 • 2021 

ARTS&LIFE
ART

E

llen Stone defines her West 
Bloomfield residence as more of an 
art gallery than a home. 
Her walls are covered with collected 
works by famous artists and include those 
with Jewish heritage, such 
as Peter Max, Yaacov Agam 
and Max Fleischer. Between 
pieces of functional furniture, 
there are three-dimensional 
artworks that distract from 
conventional seating and 
accents.
On her approximately one acre of 
land, she has arranged more artistry 
through the natural beauty of plant life 

and landscaping joined with man- and 
woman-made creativity as expressed 
through sculptured structures. Stone 
describes her yard as a sculpture park, 
and even her mailbox has color and an 
imaginative design.
Although trained as a psychotherapist 
at the University of Michigan and 
maintaining a private practice in an office 
in the same city as her home, Stone has 

entered the world of originating her own 
expressionist paintings. She displays her 
projects alongside the others. 
To celebrate the opening of private and 
public spaces as pandemic isolation draws 
down, Stone is opening her garden and 
home for the first time to present an art 
show and sale — Art in the Garden — to 
benefit the Mint Artists Guild, a nonprofit 
Detroit organization that helps emerging 
teen artists develop their innovative 
abilities and marketing skills.
The event, which runs 4-8 p.m. 
Thursday, Aug. 12, features the for-sale 
work of 10 accomplished metro artists and 
includes expressionistic and “funky figure” 

paintings by Stone, who impulsively began 
self-expression through art eight years 
ago.
With the wide range of garden space, 
artists will be placed in their individual 
sections distanced from one another, all 
jointly chosen by Stone and co-chair Kelly 
O’Neill, a sculptor who adds glass and clay 
accents to metal and also serves as a Mint 
board member.

“I started painting on a whim,” Stone 
said. “I live on a dead-end street, and all 
the little kids would ride their bikes and 
watch me paint. Over time, they would 
say it’s getting better. I took my first class 
through the Birmingham Bloomfield Art 
Center (BBAC) — an abstract art class — 
last year. We always want to keep doing 
better.”
Among the artists showcasing their 
work will be Meaghan Blankenship 
(acrylic and watercolor paintings), Donald 

Artwork by 
Ellen Stone

Details
Art in the Garden runs 4-8 
p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, in 
West Bloomfield. Free; Mint 
Guild donations are welcome. 
To register, go to eventbrite.
com/e/163310454967. For 
information, call (248) 661-2498.

Ellen Stone opens home and garden 
for event to benefit Mint Artists Guild.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ellen Stone

Garden

in the
Art 

“I STARTED PAINTING ON A WHIM ... I LIVE 
ON A DEAD-END STREET, AND ALL THE 
LITTLE KIDS WOULD RIDE THEIR BIKES 
AND WATCH ME PAINT. OVER TIME, THEY 

WOULD SAY IT’S GETTING BETTER.”

— ELLEN STONE